Sowmya Kotipalli

Professor Cogdell
Design 40A
9 December 2014
TNT Raw Materials
The booming of the industrial revolution and the technological and scientific
advancements of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries had a profound
change in the way our societies and businesses functioned. With the
invention of the steam engine, businesses were able to split the
manufacturing into smaller steps. The process of manufacturing, which was
once completed from the beginning to the end in just one building, was now
being divided among various factories which would mass produce parts of
the object. These parts would then be sent to another factory, where workers
would assemble the final product. And finally, they would transport it globally
where the customers would purchase the items at a location close to them.
Although, this process increased efficiency, the transparency of the life cycle
of the product was lost. In other words, the customer has no idea where,
how, when, and who manufactured the product. These products cover a wide
range, including TNT. Discovered in 1863 by Joseph Wilbrand 2,4,6trinitrotoulene, more commonly known as TNT, is a popular explosive still in
use today. TNT has a variety of uses from military purposes to industrial
purposes. In this paper, I will be exploring the raw materials part of the life
cycle, which includes obtaining the raw materials, manufacturing,
distributing, using/maintaining, recycling, and finally managing the waste of
TNT.
The first step of the life cycle is the obtaining of the raw materials. The
materials needed to manufacture TNT are toluene, sulfuric acid, nitric acid,

oleum, and water. Toluene, sulfuric acid, nitric acid, and oleum are all
produced in various chemical companies. However, the companies from
which the chemicals are obtained, depends on the manufacturer. One
chemical company that makes these chemicals is the Dominion Chemical
Company. Also, each chemical company could have different regulations or
specification on how to make the chemicals. The following processes
mentioned are from no particular factory. These are rather the general
process of producing the chemicals. The first material needed for the
production of TNT is toluene. This organic compound can be derived in one of
four ways. About eight-seven percent of the total toluene produced comes
from catalytic reforming of petroleum. Another nine percent of total toluene
produced comes from manufacturing ethylene and propylene. The next one
percent comes from coal-tar separation from coke ovens. And the last two
percent is a by-product of styrene manufacture. The second material needed
for the production of TNT is sulfuric acid. Sulfuric acid is prepared in one of
multiple ways. Two of these include, reacting sulfur dioxide with oxygen and
then mixing the resultant with water or by reacting nitric oxide with sulfur
dioxide and water. The next material needed is oleum. Oleum is produced
when, sulfur trioxide is produced by the contact process is absorbed in
concentrated sulfuric acid. The contact process is a procedure for creating
highly concentrated sulfuric acid, which is often used in industrial processes.
Because of the way oleum is made, it is often known as fuming sulfuric acid.
And the last chemical material that is required to manufacture TNT is nitric
acid. The nitric acid is produced industrially using what is known as the
Oswald process. There are three steps to the Oswald process. The first step is
the, Catalytic oxidation of ammonia with atmospheric oxygen to yield
nitrogen monoxide. The second step is the, oxidation of the nitrogen
monoxide product to nitrogen dioxide or dinitrogen tetroxide. And the final
step is the, Absorption of the nitrogen oxides to yield nitric acid. Nitric acid
is the last chemical material needed for the production of TNT. However, the
production still requires the supply of water. This supply of water is directly
obtained at the site of the TNT production. It is pumped into the factory

through the water pipes connecting to the factory. Once the manufacturers
obtain all the required materials for the production of TNT, they move on to
the manufacturing.
The second step of the life cycle is manufacturing the product. Different
manufacturers have various processes in which they make the TNT. In the
United States, the largest continuous manufacturer of TNT is Radford Army
Ammunition Plant. The first step in the manufacturing process of TNT is
nitrating toluene with a mixture of sulfuric acid and nitric acid. This produces
mononitrotoluene (MNT). Then, MNT is renitrated using the same mixture to
produce dinitrotoluene (DNT). This DNT is then nitrated using an anhydrous
mixture of nitric acid and oleum which produces TNT. Afterwards, TNT goes
through a process known as sulphitation. This process removes the less
stable isomers of TNT. This stabilizes the TNT and prevents any undesired
reactions from occurring. This process involves a new material, which is a
diluted solution of sodium sulfite. This is the only new material added during
this step of the life cycle. The process of manufacturing TNT is known as the
old process. The Radford Army Ammunition Plant was closed down in 1986,
because of an accident that occurred. Up until this accident, the old process
of making TNT was used. This old process resulted in a lot of waste and
pollution that took a lot of effort and money to contain and take care of. For
this reason, a group of people known as Radfords P2 Team invented a new
way of making TNT. This major change from the old process to the new
process was that the toluene raw material was switched out to ONT
(orthonitrotoluene). This chemical was much less hazardous and allowed TNT
to be virtually hundred percent pure. With this new process, there werent
any new materials that needed to be added to the manufacturing part of the
life cycle.
The third and fourth step are distributing and use/maintenance of the
product. As mentioned in the previous paragraph, TNT goes through a
sulphitation process that stabilizes the unstable isomers. Because of this
stabilization process, the TNT is not as sensitive to temperature, shock, or

the kinds of environment it is in. For this reason, TNT does not need to
transported or stored with any specific and careful procedures. However, it is
important to still take precautions. For example, too high of temperatures,
could result in detonation by its own accord. The temperature at which TNT
detonates on its own is around eighty degrees Celsius. Therefore as a
precaution it is important to store the TNT in an area that does not reach
high temperatures or maintain the temperature in the area the TNT is being
stored. Since, TNT is used mostly for military purposes, it is shipped to many
of the military bases and other military territories around the world. Trucks,
train, or plane are some examples of how TNT could be distributed to its
customers.
The fifth and sixth steps are recycling and waste management respectively.
The fifth step does not exist in the life cycle of the TNT product, because
there is no way to recycle the product once it has been used. In other words,
once the TNT is detonated, there is no way to reuse the remains of the
explosion and make TNT again. For this reason, it is concluded that there is
no way to recycle TNT. However, during the manufacturing stage, sulfuric
acid, which is diluted, can be recycled and be used again in the process of
making TNT. The next step is waste management. There is not any waste to
manage after the TNT is used. However, after the production of TNT, there is
waste management. The sulphitation process that the TNT goes through
produces waste called red water. The rinsing water used to stabilize the TNT
during the sulphitation process is what yields the red water output. This
requires additional materials necessary to treat the water and to safely
dispose of it. However, for the sake of keeping this project related strictly to
TNT, we decided not to go further into this part of the process.
As seen from the information give above, TNT is a widely used explosive that
is still used by various industries and the military today. It was interesting to
research and find out more about what goes into the process of making this
product. Along the way, it was really interesting to see how the process of
manufacturing and the life cycle of the product were quite invisible to me

until we started to research more on the product. For example, my group and
I had to look through many different websites to find the manufacturing
process of TNT. And also for the raw materials, I had to visit multiple websites
before I could find the information I was looking for. This made me think
about other products, even mere everyday products, and how their life
cycles are invisible to me as well. All in all, not only did I learn about TNT, its
raw materials and life cycle, but I also learned that it is important for us to
learn about the life cycles of all the products that are being manufactured
these days and bring back the visibility of the processes.
Works Cited
"NITRIC ACID - PubChem." NITRIC ACID - PubChem. Web. 9 Nov. 2014.
<http://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/nitric_acid>.
"OLEUM." - PubChem. Web. 29 Oct. 2014.
<http://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/summary/summary.cgi?
sid=24858586#x321>.
"Prva Iskra Namenska | Baric | Serbia | Explosives Production |
Ammonution Delaboration." TNT/DNT Plant. Web. 30 Nov. 2014.
<http://www.prvaiskra-namenska.com/technology/tnt-dnt-plant.html>.
Smith, G.Carlton. "Chapter 4 The Manufacture of TNT." TNT Rri
RRrNITEOTOLUENES AND MONO- AND DINITBOTOLUENES THEIR
MANUFACTURE AND PROPERTIES. London: Constable And, Limited.
Print.
"SULFURIC ACID - PubChem." SULFURIC ACID - PubChem. Web. 9 Nov.
2014.
<http://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/sulfuric_acid#section=M
ethods-of-Manufacturing>.

Team, Pollution Prevention. "Sustaining the Environment For a Secure

Future." 1 Jan. 2006. Web. 14 Nov. 2014.
<http://www.denix.osd.mil/awards/upload/P2_Team_Radford.pdf>.
"The Contact Process for the Manufacture of Sulphuric Acid." The
Contact Process for the Manufacture of Sulphuric Acid. Web. 30 Nov.
2014. <http://www.chemguide.co.uk/physical/equilibria/contact.html>.
"Toluene - PubChem." Toluene - PubChem. Web. 3 Nov. 2014.
<http://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/toluene#section=Useand-Manufacturing>.
"Trinitrotoluene - PubChem." Trinitrotoluene - PubChem. Web. 9 Nov.
2014. <http://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Trinitrotoluene>.
"Trinitrotoluene - TNT." TNT. Web. 25 Nov. 2014.
<http://www.ch.ic.ac.uk/vchemlib/mim/bristol/tnt/tnt_text.htm>.
"TNT." TNT. Web. 9 Nov. 2014.
<http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcast/CIIEcompounds/transcript
s/TNT.asp>.

Erik Walther
Professor Cogdell
DES040A
6 December 2014
TNT: Energy
For the men and women employed at Radford Army Ammunition
Plant in Virginia, war is good for business. Radford Army

Ammunition Plant (RFAAP) supplies the Department of Defense, in

essence the entirety of the United States military, with
Trinitrotoluene (TNT); what makes this feat impressive is that RFAAP
is the one and only supplier of TNT for the United States Armed
Forces (Radford Army Ammunition Plant). Not surprisingly,
location is a large part of what makes Radford an extremely good
place to host an explosives production plant. Not only is RFAAP
relatively close to the Department of Defenses headquarters, the
Pentagon, but it is also four hours, 242 miles, from its nearest
possible raw material provider, Dominion Chemical Co., and an
astounding eleven minutes, 5.4 miles, from the nearest military
installation, the National Guard Armory (taken from Google Maps).
Given these boundaries, it will be a simple matter to calculate the
minimum amount of energy that goes into producing a TNT load.
For the idealized lifecycle of a batch of TNT, where less fuel used is
more ideal, the major factor is the location of the necessary
facilities.
TNT is a fairly complex chemical compound, and its raw materials
could hardly be considered raw in the sense that they come
directly out of the ground. The one possible exception to this trend
is TNTs main ingredient, toluene. Most toluene produced is not
made using processes directly intended to yield toluene, as it is a
byproduct generated in the production of gasoline (Toluene). As
such, the use of toluene in TNT could be considered a form of
recycling waste materials from a much larger industry. The two-step
process that results in nitric acid, though, is done in dedicated
production facilities, often alongside TNTs other two main
ingredients. First, ammonia (also made on site) is oxidized under
moderate pressure, about 10-13 atm, as well as extremely high
temperatures, about 1200 K, resulting in nitrogen oxides (Nitric
Acid Essential). After this, nitric acid is fully formed when the oxides

pass through running water and are absorbed, a process which

requires cooling to 310 degrees (Nitric Acid Essential). TNTs last
two ingredients, oleum and sulfuric acid, are closely related in that
sulfuric acid is an ingredient of oleum and vice versa. Production
starts with sulfur, another byproduct of fossil fuel production, which
is converted to sulfur dioxide by adding dry air within a 1300 K
furnace, then converted to sulfur trioxide in a large, cylindrical fixedbed reactor, heated to 700 K, and by adding more air to the dioxide,
and finally becomes sulfuric acid when the trioxide is reacted with
water and heat is dissipated by heat exchangers within the reactor
(Sulfuric Acid Essential). Oleum is made by dissolving sulfur
trioxide in sulfuric acid and can be diluted with water to become
sulfuric acid again (Sulfuric Acid Wikipedia). In the cases of nitric
acid and especially sulfuric acid, which is literally used to make
hundreds of compounds needed by almost every industry
(Sulfuric Acid Wikipedia), the actual facilities used in chemical
production are essentially very large machines designed for mass
production; with knowledge of the raw material production plants
and their location comes the means to find which energy sources
they use and by what modes of transportation they arrive at
Radford.
Within the state of Virginia, there is a wide variety of energy
sources available to the chemical manufacturers, although fossil fuel
is most likely the only available fuel source for the large vehicles
that transport raw materials to Radford Army Ammunition plant.
There are nearly as many power plants within the state that offer
renewable energy as there are plants that offer non-renewable
energy (List of power stations in Virginia). Among the offered
types of renewable energy are hydroelectric and biomass, while the
non-renewable consists of coal, uranium, natural gas and oil (List of
power stations in Virginia). Thus, it is plausible that the power used

for the production of TNTs raw materials is entirely renewable, with

the exception of the fuel used in the furnace for the sulfuric acid
production. The same cannot be said for the mode of transportation
by which the materials reach RFAAP, though. Dominion Chemical
Co. has access to ports, airlines, railroads, and highways (Company
Name About us), all of which require fossil fuels to utilize.
Because it is shipping chemicals in-state, however, and their
destination is only a few hours away, the highway is the most direct
and obvious choice. This means that the duty of moving the
chemicals falls upon the backs of the large and inefficient semitruck. On average, these diesel-powered trucks get 6.5 miles per
gallon (Berg). As a result, the trip to the TNT plant, 242 miles long,
will use approximately 37 gallons of diesel. Following this massive
prelude, TNT manufacture can truly begin.
The TNT manufacturing process that takes place in Radford Army
Ammunition Plant is yet another string of chemical reactions. RFAAP
is capable of producing 50-55 tons of TNT per day (Radford Army 1),
which is a staggering 2 tons per hour over a full 24 hour period.
Hourly production is certainly higher than 2 tons per hour, though,
since the facility and its employees most likely do not work for 24
hours straight without cessation. It seems that TNT manufacture is
not a lengthy process, though it requires a decent amount of space
for safety reasons; the entire RFAAP campus spans 4600 acres
(Radford Army Ammunition Plant). As for the TNT, manufacturing
is a 3-stage process performed in a series of reactors (Emission
Estimation 3). This process involves mixing chemicals together in
large containers, using pumps to introduce the acids and to transfer
the product between reactors (Emission Estimation 3). Since no
heating or burning is involved, and the machines in the process do
nothing besides mix the raw materials together, they most likely use
electricity. RFAAP will probably utilize the same energy sources as

the raw materials manufacturer in the TNT production process.

However, since the process does not utilize a furnace, like sulfuric
acid manufacturing, fossil fuel is not a necessary component. Once
again, the sole use of renewable energy from Virginias hydroelectric
and biomass power plants is not removed from the realm of
possibilities. When the TNT is finished, only one more energyconsuming step remains, and that is transportation.
Previously, boundaries had been established with the intentions
of determining the minimum amount of energy required in TNTs
product lifecycle; the nearby National Guard Armory, one obvious
consumer of TNT, fits into these boundaries by being the closest
recipient and thus requiring the least fossil fuels to reach. However,
depending on how one chooses to define TNTs life as a product and
where that ends, distribution and transportation can end before TNT
even leaves the manufacturing plants grounds. Although pure TNT
blocks of varying size can be found, TNT is more commonly
encountered in synergistic explosive blends comprising a variable
percentage of TNT plus other ingredients (Trinitrotoluene). If TNT
blends are considered a separate product from TNT, then it is
reasonable to assume TNTs product lifecycle ends when it becomes
a raw material for the blend; despite this, tracking of the distribution
cycle shall continue. The quickest path to the Armory is by road, a
mere 5.4 mile drive that takes 11 minutes according to Google
Maps. To deliver as much TNT as possible, the same diesel-powered
semi-trucks used in the delivery of the raw materials would be
utilized here with their average efficiency of 6.5 miles per gallon
(Berg). Therefore, it takes 0.8 gallon of diesel to reach the National
Guard Armory. Once it is in the hands of the military consumers,
TNT is ready for use with minor preparation. While it does not
require any energy (in the same sense that this research pertains to)
to use, TNT is a secondary explosive, meaning it requires a more

sensitive (easier to explode) initiating explosive in the form of

detonators and percussion caps (Emission Estimation 2) to
activate. Once activated, it produces a large amount of energy over
an extremely brief time period. Simply put, there is no reuse,
maintenance, or much of anything past this point, not even
recycling or waste management; because of its explosive nature,
TNTs product lifecycle ends the moment it is used.
In conclusion, from an energy standpoint the lifecycle of TNT is
not a particularly wasteful one. This is due mainly to location of
facilities; as Radford Army Ammunition Plant is a manufacturer of
vital military supplies, it makes sense that it would be close to
military installations. There are civilian manufactures of TNT in the
United States whose goods are used, for example, by the mining
industry. However, as a weapon, TNT has only one possible origin,
and that is Radford. Wherever TNT comes from, though, its lifecycle
will end with a bang.
Following is a list of my failures and assumptions. First, here is
how I addressed the 6 major sections (Raw Materials, Manufacturing,
Processing and Formulation, etc.): because of the nature of TNTs
usage, there is nothing to write about in sections 5, Recycle, or 6,
Waste Management. The fundamental acids for TNT production,
although considered raw materials in labs and various industries, are
not simply taken out of the ground (quoted from the Research
Paper Writing Tips), and I explained the chemistry to give an idea of
what machines are used so I could address my part. Although I
simplified the processes, it still took an entire paragraph, so I
decided to give the Raw Materials section 2 tidy paragraphs instead
of one awkward, extra-large paragraph. The first one handles raw
materials and processes, the second handles fuel and energy
sources and transportation. I combined sections 3, Distribution, and
4, Use, because they were short. I imply that Radford gets materials

from one source, but they most likely come from several plants
given the massive TNT output. I know that Dominon Chemical Co.,
the raw material source, definitely has toluene, nitric and sulfuric
acid, but I assume they also have Oleum because of my
understanding of sulfuric acid production. I could not find the
specific amounts of each raw material needed for a fixed amount of
TNT; my estimation is that one truckload of materials will equal one
truckload of TNT. I assume the semi-trucks make one-way trips,
counting only the fuel it takes to get to each facility. Also, I assume
that all semi-trucks use fossil fuel exclusively. I assume that all the
heat-intensive processes are powered by electricity except in the
case of the furnace. Staying within the boundaries of my research,
all the energy used by all the facilities comes from Virginian power
plants. I know not whether Radford uses energy provided by
renewable or non-renewable sources. I said that TNT is more often
encountered in blends, but I did not know how that would affect my
product, so I chose to follow the lifecycle of pure TNT. I could find
absolutely nothing on the National Guard Armory, except that it was
there. The meaning of the word energy changes based on context
and made my writing about energy in section 4 seem rather unclear,
so I feel the need to clarify: the energy needed to activate the TNT is
explosive energy generated by an initial explosion, not the same
energy with which the rest of my paper deals. Finally, the largest
assumption made is that the TNT made here is created through
what my Group and I refer to as the old process. The new process is
slightly different, and was created by Radford to reduce waste and
become more environmentally friendly. My part is not tangibly
affected depending on which process is used, except that Oleum is
not used in the new process, and toluene is nitrated before
becoming a raw material. We chose the old process because there
was more information about it.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Berg, Phil. Its Not Exactly a Prius, Folks Popular
Mechanics. Popular Mechanics. Popular Mechanics, n.d. Web.
7 Dec. 2014.
<http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/news/pictures/10things-you-didnt-know-about-semi-trucks-5#slide-5>.
Company Name About Us. Dominion Chemical. Dominion
Chemical Company, n.d. Web. 7 Dec 2014.
<http://www.dominionchemical.com/systmpl/faqaboutus/index.html>.
Emission Estimation Technique Manual for Explosives
Manufacturing. N.p.: National Pollutant Inventory, Aug. 1999.
PDF.
Google Maps. Google, n.d. Web. 7 Dec. 2014.
Industrial Chemicals. Dominion Chemical. Dominion Chemical
Company, n.d. Web. 7 Dec. 2014.
<http://www.dominionchemical.com/index.php?
sPage=industrial_chemicals>.
List of power stations in Virginia. Wikipedia. N.p. n.d. Web. 7
Dec. 2014.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_power_stations_in_Virginia
>.
Nitric Acid. The Essential Chemical Industry Online. The
University of York, 18 March 2013. Web. 7 Dec. 2014.
<http://www.essentialchemicalindustry.org/chemicals/nitricacid.html>.

Nitric Acid. Wikipedia. N.p. n.d. Web. 7 Dec. 2014.

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitric_acid>.
Oleum. Wikipedia. N.p. n.d. Web. 7 Dec. 2014.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oleum>.
Radford Army Ammunition Plant. Wikipedia. N.p. n.d. Web. 7
Dec. 2014.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radford_Army_Ammunition_Plant
>.
Radford Army Ammunition Plant Pollution Prevention
Team. N.p.: Pollution Prevention Team, 5 Dec. 2014. PDF.
Sulfuric Acid. The Essential Chemical Industry Online. The
University of York, 20 Dec. 2013. Web. 7 Dec. 2014.
<http://www.essentialchemicalindustry.org/chemicals/sulfuricacid.html>.
Sulfuric Acid. Wikipedia. N.p. n.d. Web. 7 Dec. 2014.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sulfuric_acid>.
Toluene. Wikipedia. N.p. n.d. Web. 7 Dec. 2014.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toluene>.
Trinitrotoluene. Wikipedia. N.p. n.d. Web. 7 Dec. 2014.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinitrotoluene>.
Dorothy Enomoto
December 9, 2014
DES 40A
Professor Christina Cogdell

Wastes and Emissions of TNT

Trinitrotoluene, most commonly referred to as TNT, is known for
being an explosive. TNT is mostly associated with war and the
military. Radford, a production facility of TNT, emits thousands of
toxic chemicals into the environment ever year in order to keep
producing TNT. The emissions released from making TNT are far
more harmful than regular green house gases. Not only are toxic
chemicals released into the air, but they can also spread by water
and land. It is highly important to take precaution when dealing with
TNT or even living in an environment near an area exposed to this
product. Exposure to high levels of these emissions can result in
serious health problems. Many people know the main purpose of
TNT, but they rarely know how much waste and emissions are
created in order to produce TNT.
Along with any production process, there is usually some type of
output whether it is waste or byproducts that come out of extracting
raw materials. In this case, Radford does not make their raw
materials. They actually get their raw materials from other
manufacturing facilities. The assumption was made that no toxic
byproducts were extracted since raw materials do not primarily
come from Radford. Although, there is pollution emitted into the air
through the transportation of these materials from one destination
to another. The assumption is made that the transportation of these
materials takes place in a semi-truck. It was hard finding information
on Radfords raw materials. Most sites only talked about how the
process started and what chemicals were needed. There were not
any sources that stated if Radford made their raw materials from
scratch or if they get them transported to their facility.
Within the last seventy years, a community developed within
five miles of the manufacturing facility. This exposed thousands of

people in the community to the toxic emissions released by Radford,

whether it was air emissions or emissions released into surrounding
waters (Wikipedia). Emissions to the air come from leaks in
equipment and valves, vents, open doors in the building and spills
and material handling. Emissions to water occur when toxic
substances reach sources of water such as dams, lakes, rivers, and
coastal waters (NPI). In the old process, one of the first steps to
form TNT is nitration. This is when toluene and a mixed acid are
nitrated together to form crude TNT. Nitration is a chemical process
that takes a nitro group and combines it to an organic chemical
compound. From this nitration, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, and
spent acid are produced as byproducts. Spent acid is a
regeneration and production of sulfuric acid (Wikipedia). This
spent acid is the only byproduct that is recycled back into the entire
process. It is only recycled back into the nitration step. The other
byproducts offer no other use in this process. There is not much
recycling of chemicals or products that get used for anything else for
the manufacturing and production of TNT.
Products travel many miles to reach consumers whether it involves
boat, train, plane, or automobile and produce greenhouse gases.
With the assumption that Radford uses semi-trucks to distribute
their TNT to consumers, the conclusion can be made that green
house gasses are in fact emitted into the air. Semi-trucks use diesel
gasoline, which release several pollutants into the air. The pollutants
emitted into the air include: volatile organic compounds, THC, CO,
NOX (nitrogen oxides), PM10 (regulated pollutant), and PM2.5 (fine
particulate) (EPA2008). By looking at table 1 provided, it is clear to
see the comparison of emission rates between gasoline and diesel
fuel. Heavy-duty diesel vehicles (HDDV) do not seem to release as
much green house gases into the environment as heavy-duty
gasoline-fueled vehicles do (HDGV). For certain gases though,

heavy-duty diesel vehicles do emit more. Table 2 shows the average

emission rates of vehicles based on different weight classifications
and the type of fuel. In summary, the level of pollution released into
the environment reflects on the type of transportation used.
Transportation is not the only thing that emits pollutions into the air.
There are other things to consider especially when it comes to
thinking about the consumers and the precautions they should take.
Every explosion will have a reaction. Many people correlate energy
as the ability to do work. Explosions from TNT occur as large
amounts of stored energy convert to heat in a confined space (Ni).
A significant amount of energy is necessary for this process to occur.
In fact, one pound of TNT consists of 2723J of energy (Ni). The gas
expansion and extreme build up of pressure causes the explosion
and forces debris to fly everywhere in its surroundings. The handling
of a product like TNT should be handled with caution due to the
effects caused by exposure. People expose themselves to TNT
simply through breathing, eating, touching, and drinking (DHSS).
When exposure occurs, the bloodstream absorbs TNT which then
travels to the organs within the body (DHSS). For humans with high
levels of TNT exposure, the chances of developing blood disorders
and liver problems increase. This also shows to be true for animals,
and unfortunately male animals appeared to experience
reproductive problems in addition to the other health issues.
Radfords primary consumer is the military. That makes sense
considering the uses for TNT.
The recycling process of TNT regarding chemical, water, and air
pollution outputs do not involve many things. No recycling actually
takes place after the use of TNT. The old process involves no
recycling after the use of TNT. On the other hand, due to yearly
enormous amounts of nitrogen oxide and carbon monoxide emitted
into the air, Radford created a new system that decreases the

amount of toxic airborne emissions by ten tons. In order to make

this decrease in emissions every year, they started capturing the
emissions in an effective weak nitric acid crystallization process
(Elliott). This change became know as the new process. The main
reason for the new process was because they needed a more cost
effective way to produce TNT and a way to be more eco-friendly. The
emissions created end up sent through a fume abatement tower and
carbon monoxide oxidizer, which completely eradicated the step
responsible for the significant quantities of nitrous oxide (Elliott).
Degradation of TNT occurs mostly in surface soil found in bomb
ranges or areas of military and war. For the next step to occur, it
needs to reach surface water. The surface water allows the TNT to
undergo photolysis at a vast rate. Photolysis is a chemical reaction
that breaks down chemical compounds by photons or by the
absorption of light (EPA). In this reaction, photodegradation occurs
to several degradation products and 1,2,5-trinitrobenzene is the
primary one. In addition to degradation, TNT also exhibits
biodegradation, but at a less hastily rate in water (EPA). The main
products for biodegradation include: 2-amino-4, 6-dinitrotoluene,
2,6-diamino-4-nitrotoluene, and 2,4-diamino-6-nitrotoluene (EPA).
TNT contributes to environmental hazards due to the waste
produced throughout the formation process. TNT enters the
environment through: spills, firing of munitions (war weapons),
disposal of ordnance (military weapons and ammunitions), leaks
from inadequately sealed impoundments, demilitarization of
munitions, and manufacturing and processing facilities (EPA). TNT
emissions can be categorized into three sections: air, water, and
land. There is no dump for the old process, but there are nitrator
vessel dumps in the new process. The nitrator vessel dumps store
emissions from the fume abatement tower and the carbon monoxide
oxidizer stated earlier. Once they are full, maintenance tanks collect

the dumps. There was a failure on finding information on what

Radford does with the maintenance tanks after they do their
collecting. There was no information that could be found about it,
the sources only said that the dumps were collected.
The overall process to produce something like TNT is complex and
has many steps to it. Most of the steps are chemical processes. It is
interesting that Radford does not make their own raw materials,
especially when their starting chemicals need to be pure. It was hard
finding information about this part, which is why the assumption was
made that semi-trucks are probably used to transport the needed
raw materials to Radford, from wherever they order from. The
emissions that Radford releases definitely impact the surrounding
environment. The amounts released from the old process were way
too high, therefore they needed to find a new process to decrease
the emissions and become more eco-friendly. That is very important
because they are affecting peoples lives. Exposure to these toxins
can really damage a persons health. The new process was better
because it proved to be more cost effective. Radford was able to
recycle a byproduct as well as market it towards mining
manufacturers. There was difficulty in finding information relating to
this because most sources were not specifying which process they
were referring to, either the old or the new. TNT requires huge
amounts of energy to get an explosion. The debris from the
explosions go into surrounding areas and contaminate water
sources. The only thing recycled from the production process is a
form of sulfuric acid. Most byproducts are just waste. The hardest
part about this product was the fact that the life cycle of TNT is
short. There is not much left TNT does after it is used by the
consumer. Most of it is just emitted into the environment and
nothing gets recycled. There are a lot of things that go into making
TNT that many people do not realize. They do not think about the

amount of waste and emissions that are produced and released, the
recycling if anything, and what happens after it is used.